A fifth of landlords have not renewed their rent at 6.94% in 2024.

According to the barometer of the Association of Lisbon Owners (ALP), two in 10 owners (21.4%) did not increase their rent by the 6.94% factor allowed by law this year, while 10% kept it because they considered any increase impossible.

According to the VII edition of the ALP Owner Confidence Barometer, about a third of respondents did not apply the 6.94% increase because they mutually agreed to another annual coefficient in the lease agreement, and 14% of respondents preferred to update it. rent by a different percentage “because they understand that the ratio calculated by the National Statistics Institute (INE) for 2024 could lead to their tenants defaulting.”

“Despite being constantly demonized in public opinion, 10% of these landlords kept their rent unchanged because they believed any increase would be unaffordable for their tenants,” the association points out.

In turn, 9% of respondents decided not to make any increase “because they currently have an income that allows them to live a comfortable life without having to take away purchasing power from their tenants.”

According to the ALP, this edition of the barometer identified “two developments that have become widespread and highlight a lack of confidence in the rental market over the past year”, which the association attributes to “the instability caused by the More Housing package”. “: Landlords selling their leased homes and rising rent defaults.

“Almost 9% of respondents say they have sold a traditional rental property,” he notes, adding that “this is joined by almost 6% of landlords who report that they have converted a traditional rental property into a short-term rental.” term rentals”, namely for accommodation of students or foreign professionals or digital nomads.

The association also states that half (50%) of respondents point to property and rentals as markets with increasingly less attractive returns, while 43% consider them “bureaucratic and difficult to understand” markets, and 29% indicate that they are investments , requiring excessive operating costs.

However, for almost a quarter of respondents (24%) this is a profitable and safe market for investment.

Despite the reformulation of affordable rental programs and the creation of programs such as Rent to Sublet as part of the More Housing package, responses collected by the ALP Barometer show that only 2% of respondents have signed contracts under these programs. .

The barometer also shows that almost a quarter of landlords (23.6%) report incidents of tenants failing to meet rent payments in the third quarter of this year, with 30% more than six months in arrears in rent and 28% two to three months in arrears.

However, according to the ALP, less than half of landlords (48.7%) who reported non-compliance with the contract are considering eviction, and of those who do not intend to go to court to demand payment, the majority (25%) cite rent as an excuse on the fact that this is a labor-intensive process and costs more than the amount owed.

18% of owners resolve the problem out of court, 15.6% say they understand the economic and social situation that tenants are in, 17% believe that fairness is always on the side of tenants, and 4% say they do not have the means to access justice.

When asked what the first measure should be taken by the new government, which takes office this Tuesday, 20% of owners pointed to the issue of a rent freeze (which affects contracts before 1990), while 15.8% said only they want be viewed by leaders as “partners” rather than “enemies.”

Promoting a “fiscal shock” with a significant reduction in property taxation is the third most popular measure by property owners in the VII edition of the ALP Barometer, which received more than half a thousand responses and was developed between March 14 and 22.